| June 20, 2005 | Monday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 12, 1426 |
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Remembering Fazal Mahmood
President’s foreign trips
CAA investigation
Mukhtaran Mai’s plight
PTV coverage
Reforms in madressahs
Budget
Minimum wages
US visa
Prize bonds
MR Rafi Adamjee (June 14) has oversimplified the factors behind the auto car industry’s concerns over the import of used cars. It must be borne in mind that economy and the manufacturing business are complex issues and require in-depth analysis.
Over the last two years the prices of steel in the world market have appreciated considerably. Also, the Pakistani rupee has lost ground against the Japanese yen. This was bound to increase input costs for local manufacturers and, resultantly, prices had to be increased.
The point raised is that, as compared to the local car assemblers, the government gets a sizable tax from the import of used cars. In statistical terms the government would never be able to receive as much duty on a used car as is paid by the local manufacturers on a new car.
During the year 2003-04, the government of Pakistan had collected a total revenue of Rs510 billion; more than 4.59 per cent of it was collected through the local manufacturing of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. Figures for this year would be much higher.
Interestingly, the car dealers’ lobby that so vehemently supports import of used cars hardly pays any direct taxes. This would be another window for them to earn money as they would be free to earn as much profit as they would like on these cars.
And there is much more beyond this pre-conceived notion of tax contribution. Under-invoicing and over-invoicing are a part and parcel of such schemes as the business of used-car imports. Billions will be eaten up by the corrupt and the government exchequer will be the loser in the end.
The growth of any industry needs a long-term consistent policy on the part of the government. Besides tax revenues, growing economies need to introduce policies that help generate employment and encourage transfer of technology.
In the absence of a long-term industrial policy, the fears of the local auto manufacturers are based on the ability and potential of a system that can be misused by importers of used cars.
A dealers’ representative in a recent statement said that they had to pay Rs100,000 to expatriate Pakistanis to buy papers for the import of cars. Will anyone tell us what is the purpose of introducing the baggage scheme and the transfer of residence schemes?
NILOFAR MUGHAL
Islamabad
MR Nazim F. Haji has termed the increased depreciation allowance for the import of used cars in budget 2005-06 a right step. The logic offered is that as supplies increase the prices of cars in the country will drop. For car manufacturing industries it is a lot more about input costs that determine the price than the factor of supply and demand. Therefore it is hard to understand how prices of locally manufactured cars will come down.
The writer also raises a point about car delivery period and manufacturers earning interest money on the booking money deposited with them. This again is derived from insufficient knowledge about the auto industry and the market. The auto industry pays interest to those customers whose delivery takes more than 60 days.
A lot of hue and cry is often raised about the car premium issue without looking into the role of the local auto industry. This hype is a bluff. It can be simply detected if we dare to see who benefits from it — roadside dealers or the manufacturers?
The local car industry is supposed to meet the demand of the actual buyer and not that of the dealers for profiteering. Excess of liquidity has been invested in the car market that has choked the supply line for genuine buyers. Interestingly, so far not a single step has been taken by the government to discourage such investment. On the other hand, no effort has been spared to damage the local vendors and assemblers.
The fears of the local car industry are not out of place. To make investment commitments and expansion plans, any industry needs to have a clear long-term vision. Positive government policies help industries to adopt such a vision. Inconsistency on the other hand adversely impacts investment plans. It is very easy for anyone to sit outside the industry and speculate or make claims.
In fact during the last three quarters of the current fiscal year, despite growth in the sales volume, profits for the local car industries are falling. And if the trend continues, most manufacturers will turn into importers, as that is a much simpler task than manufacturing and may have more margins of profit.
If that happens, there will be a major setback to the engineering industry of Pakistan. Developing and building economies is an issue much larger than meets the eye.
IFTIKHAR HUSSAIN
Mardan
I HAD a very strong association with Fazal Mahmood because we were members of the same club, i.e., the Universal Cricket Club, and I also played my initial first-class matches under his captaincy back in 1958-59.
Fazal was at his peak at that time and was an extremely popular player. People would come from far just to have a glimpse of their hero. He always encouraged youngsters and was very generous in extending advice to them and cooperating with them. While addressing the players before the commencement of a match, I vividly recall that he would tell us: “Never despair… keep playing hard and you will finally achieve the desired goal.”
In his youth he was a very handsome person, six feet and two inches tall, with a light complexion, proportionate body, and blue eyes. His pleasing manners and conduct added charm to his personality.
Fazal was undoubtedly the greatest bowler Pakistan has ever produced and definitely one of the greatest of all times that the game of cricket has known. During the period he was at his peak, fewer Test matches were played as compared to now. Had he gotten the opportunity to play more Test matches during his peak, as today’s bowlers do, he would have taken many more wickets. Another disadvantage he faced compared with the greats of his time was that he always bowled against stronger batting sides, like Australia, England and the West Indies. Further, the fielding of the Pakistani team was poor at that time, and as a result his performance also suffered.
Fazal used to visit the nets of the Universal Club on a regular basis and would coach the youngsters. As a result of his efforts, cricketers like Saeed Ahmed, S. F. Rahman, Dr Zafar Altaf, Asif Masood and Azhar Khan were produced by this club. He would never consider the match over until the last ball of the game was bowled. When he captained any team, he would not only perform well himself, but would also infuse all the team members with a fighting spirit and extract maximum effort out of them so they played to their full potential.
KHAWAJA SHUJAUDDIN
Texas, USA
PRESIDENT Musharraf has been globe-trotting endlessly, and not a single month goes by when he does not visit new countries — at some places he has been the “first Pakistani head of state to ever visit”.
One does not understand what these countless visits can accomplish. In our constitutional framework, the president is head of state and the prime minister is head of government. If these tours are conducted for foreign policy reasons, our foreign minister has enough laurels to his credit for travelling to so many countries. Further, the goals — which we don’t know what they are — can be equally accomplished by our well-placed ambassadors in foreign countries. Does Gen Musharraf know that each time he visits a foreign country he undermines his own handpicked prime minister?
When are we going to learn to control spending? We already have an army of cabinet ministers and advisers, doing multiple and overlapping jobs. We have suffered enough. How long will we remain behind the smoke screen?
We have to catch up with 21st century demands for better health, education and environment as well as elect a government responsive to the requirements of the people of Pakistan, not people who enter the highest offices through force, coupled with never-ending conspiracies by all those fossilized, feudal politicians of Pakistan who never disappear from the country. And if they disappear or die, their equally incompetent daughters and sons come and share the power.
Is this the destiny of the poor people of Pakistan?
MALIK W.
Las Vegas, USA
THE investigation into the near miss mid-air accident of a PIA and an Airblue passenger plane in December 2004 is still not complete. And then we read about another one of a similar nature (June 17).
There should be a timeline given at the start of all such investigations and rules should be put in place to penalize the investigating officials involved if deadlines are missed.
By not completing the earlier investigation on time, the officials involved are guilty of putting lives at risk.
ZUBAIR NASEER
Karachi
WHILE Air Blue marked its first birthday on June 18, the management has yet to investigate the two mid-air near misses with PIA.
The recent one would have been really disastrous had the PIA crew not responded in time.
Frequent air travellers want to be sure that proper investigations take place and the culprits are given exemplary punishment.
However, they do not hope
for much as the findings for
the December near miss
incident have yet to be completed.
The higher management of both the airline companies are requested to fully probe the matter and restore the confidence of passengers.
JAVED IQBAL
Swabi
THE persistent harassment of Mukhtaran Mai and mishandling of her case prove that one can’t raise an accusing finger at the people who wield power, since it appears that we have a different set of laws for the rich and the powerful and for the poor and the helpless.
Atrocities on women, in the general state of lawlessness, are neither new nor rare. But what is traumatic, more so for the victims, is the government’s biased approach and the effort to politicize crime. One can’t fight a corrupt system and expect justice particularly when the guilty enjoy official and political patronage.
We have failed to realize that in our country women’s liberty is no more than a myth. Notwithstanding the efforts of social reformers and the so-called progressive attitude towards women of a small section of society, women in Pakistan, by and large, remain neglected, suppressed and exploited. Making new laws to protect their interests or reservation for them in the legislative bodies will just not do. We need to educate the girl child in right earnest and change our male dominant attitude through education and awakening of the masses. Women empowerment does not seem to have solved the problems faced by them. A change in the mindset of men is needed, which will go a long way in redressing the balance in gender equation.
UMER MUMTAZ
Rawalpindi
WHEN Gen Pervez Musharraf took over, one believed things would change for the better. Mukhtaran Mai’s case proves otherwise.
The government has put her under house arrest for spreading her word around. How a simple peasant woman kept her head up after her gang rape and began a mission of social reform is incredible. Mukhtaran Mai decided to fight this battle for all the women of Pakistan and redefine a woman’s dignity. That is what we Pakistanis should be thinking if we love and respect our culture.
But can one find a bigger tragedy than the Musharraf government’s “genuine concern” for Mukhtaran Mai? The house arrest is to protect her from all the predators around her, or so they claim. The Taliban threw burqas over Afghan women for the same reason.
Gen Musharraf is concerned that she might “malign Pakistan’s image”. What image? The one that the government is trying to create through a false façade of an economic boom that has no foundation? Or the image that our neighbours have: that the best the Pakistani military can do is to dabble in real estate?
Mukhtaran Mai is the single chance of a possible change in the inhuman feudal practices in Pakistan. Mukhtaran’s fight is, first and foremost, every eastern woman’s fight. She could be any lower caste woman in India or a Christian maid in Saudi Arabia. Mukhtaran is at a critical point in her battle. It is for each of us who have the awareness and the conscience to not let her down. We can save her if we become her voice. For Pakistan, it is a chance to be identified with, besides all else her exceptional courage.
LUBNA RAZZAQ
Los Angeles, USA
A JUDGE in Peshawar orders amputation of a hand and a foot of an American convict. There is a storm of protest in the West. The mother and sister of the convict appear on American TV, crying and pleading. The anchor cannot believe such barbarity is possible even in this day and age. A few days later, the Pakistan government quietly puts the man on a plane to his home.
A judge in Lahore gives a ruling that an old Muslim woman cannot marry without the permission of her “wali”. If a “wali” cannot be found the court would find one for her. There is amazement and disbelief in the West. Later, the verdict is overturned by the Lahore High Court.
Every few months, bizarre punishments are announced by the jirgas and lower courts. Stoning, dismemberment of limbs, etc., are solemnly proclaimed. Often such news hits the front pages of the international media and Pakistanis abroad want to find a hole to crawl in. Now the Mukhtaran Mai affair hits New York Times and small-town newspapers alike in the US. Not even a fraction of the damage done to Pakistan’s image would have occurred had the government not panicked and blocked Mukhtaran’s exit.
Pakistanis are past masters in projecting themselves as primitive. When will it be realized that certain acts are unthinkable in the 21st century and just because the West disapproves we do not need to prove our manhood by sticking to our guns?
Pakistan is not an “island” and must observe the norms of modern civilization. For the sake of the vast majority of people in Pakistan, please muzzle those who bring shame to this country and its people.
JAMAL H. KHAN
Charleston, USA
PTV made superb arrangements for the live coverage of Hurriyat leaders. However, commentary by PTV anchors — both at the Chakoti border and in the studios — were not up to the mark as the anchors appeared to have a faint grasp of the Kashmir issue.
PTV should have chosen anchors with an in-depth knowledge of the Kashmir issue. The one at the Chakoti border was just doling out meaningless information.
As a result, private networks stole the show by fielding the right anchors even though they were using PTV coverage.
PTV should seriously consider selecting the right people for the job, particularly for such international events.
UZMA KHAN
Rawalpindi
IT appears that extremism is being fuelled in madressahs. In our village the religious leaders keep telling their followers that controlling population is un-Islamic, and they encourage more births by saying: “Deliver mujahideen.”
Due to scarce resources people are constrained to send their children to madressahs where they are forced to go begging for funds, etc., and those who refuse are beaten black and blue by the mullahs.
In the village madressahs, children are taught to hate other religions. The government of Pakistan is taking steps to bring reforms into madressahs through a change in the curricula, but this is not enough. Training of teachers and recruiting professional and secular teachers in the madressahs according to the requirements of the modern era is equally necessary.
GUL BAHAR
Sukkur
THREE Pen-pricks (Dawn, June 5, June 8 and June 11) depict the condensed impact of the budget 2005-06 on the lives of the have-nots. The first shows a leased car under the caption ‘Standard of living has improved: survey’. The second shows the people buried in the plethora of the 1,965-page budget document. The third is about the ‘Five-year plan for seven million jobs’.
Minimum wages fixed at Rs3,000 per month. Can any minister imagine how a family of four can have a square meal for Rs100 (about $1.5) under the official inflation rate of 11 per cent?
Are we destined to live a subhuman life, working for whatever petty jobs we can find and keeping our children deprived of even primary education and allowing them to grow up as youths with no future?
GHEEWALA A.G.M.
Karachi
PARAGRAPH 4 of the Finance Bill 2005 has proposed revision of the minimum wages of workers from Rs2,500 to Rs3,000 per month by making amendments to the Schedule of the Minimum Wages for Unskilled Workers’ Ordinance of 1969 (WP Ordinance XX, 1969). The minimum wages, according to the amendment, shall be deemed to have been so increased retrospectively from the first day of January 2005.
One is surprised that while the federal budget and the legislation related thereto is meant for the financial year commencing July 2005, the revision of minimum wages will be effective from the past six months. Business done by the industries/organizations during the last six months has been based on the cost factors they faced over this period. The products and services produced and sold out during the past six months did not include the cost of increase in wages announced now in the budget.
So will the law makers be kind enough to think before nodding to the proposed amendment whether they are going to overburden the industries/ organizations or not by making the raise retrospectively?
MUHAMMAD YAMIN
KHANZADA
Karachi
THE refusal of a US visa to Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal is tantamount to denying a citizen of Pakistan whose credentials in Pakistan are as high as those of his counterpart in America the right to land on US soil.
Perhaps the apprehension of the US government while refusing a visa was that if a retired Pakistani judge would land on the US soil, Pakistanis who are kept in confinement — and their families — would make an appeal to seek justice in the US.
Pakistani senators have rightly joined hands to demand that US citizens should also be given reciprocal treatment in Pakistan. If the US wants Pakistan to be its strategic partner in the region, it must change its policy towards Pakistani nationals who are residing in the US or want to go there.
SYED A. MATEEN
Karachi
FOR buyers of Rs200 prize bonds there are 1,550 prizes of Rs1,000 each — a total amount of Rs1,550,000. The minimum prize amount should be Rs5,000, otherwise no one would be interested in investing their money for such a trivial prize.
JAVED HUSSAIN BALOCH
Sargodah
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